The top CB in the PL, but the national team coach is unhappy…why?
Didier Deschamps, head coach of the French national soccer team, explains the recall of William Saliba.
France will face Gibraltar in their ninth UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group B match at the Allianz Riviera in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France, on June 19 at 4:45 a.m. ET. France have now qualified for the knockout stages with six wins from six matches.
Ahead of the match, a pre-match press conference was held. During the press conference, Deschamps was asked about Saliba, who is currently playing at the highest level in the Premier League (PL) with Arsenal. The question was about his starting spot.
Deschamps made his position clear. “Saliba hasn’t played many games with us, he’s been in good form for his club. But on the international stage, he hasn’t always been at his best.”
After joining Arsenal ahead of the 2019-20 season, Saliba spent time on loan at Saint-Etienne in 2019-20, Nice in 2020-21, and Marseille in 2021-22, before returning to the Gunners in 2022-23 and immediately realizing his potential.
His three-year loan spell was not in vain. After a tremendous pre-season, Saliba started in the first round and helped the Gunners to victory, and from then on, he played most of the games alongside Gabriel Magalhaes. Saliba’s performance kept Arsenal in the title race, as they finished the first half on top of the table, ahead of overwhelming favorites Manchester City.
In the second half of the season, Salah didn’t play as well as he did in the first, but he still retained his place in the starting lineup. However, in February, right in the middle of the title race with City, he was unexpectedly ruled out of the team, and Arsenal couldn’t hold on to their lead and lost the title to City. Although the Gunners were unable to finish the season and lose the title, one of the biggest positives for the club was that Saliba, who was signed with an eye on the future, improved tremendously during his three-year loan spell and established himself as a first-team regular.
This season, he’s been the first-choice center back again. Most notably, he completely obliterated Elling Holland in the last eight against Man City, helping the Gunners to a 1-0 win. With Saliba and Magalhaes forming a solid backline, Arsenal are challenging for the title again this season. 아톰카지노
In just two years, Saliba has established himself as one of the PL’s top center backs. However, he is still struggling to establish himself with the French national team. After earning his first cap in March 2022, Saliba was benched in favor of Raphael Varane and Dayo Upamecano at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. To date, Saliba has made just 10 appearances for the national team.
Deschamps himself spoke about the situation: “The national team is not a place like Arsenal where you don’t have to ask if you can play on the weekend. When he plays with us, he tells himself that he has to do better because there are other players besides him (Saliba). He is not in the same psychological situation as he is at Arsenal at the moment.”